Young surf star goes to court to have ban over wild carnival lifted

RISING surf star Jordan Mercer has outed herself as one of the six elite athletes suspended for alleged misconduct as she fights to lift the ban and get back on the beach.

The 19-year-old daughter of former ironman champion Darren Mercer was temporarily suspended by Surf Life Saving Australia while it investigates allegations of sexual assault and cocaine use at the world surf lifesaving championships in Adelaide last month.

But Mercer is fighting the suspension, with lawyers launching Supreme Court action to allow her to compete in surf carnivals this weekend and to train for the Nutri-Grain series.

The Brisbane court heard the grounds for the suspensions related to the failure to provide "care" to a teammate who was "in a point of jeopardy".

"There was a teammate who was in a point of jeopardy and he wasn't cared for and ought to have been and that failure to act breaks core principles," SLSA barrister Andrew Hoare said.

He said material linked to the incident was taken to a board meeting, where it was decided Mercer should be suspended until an internal hearing on December 14-16.

Mercer's lawyers argued SLSA did not have the right to suspend her until it started the internal hearing and until then she should be allowed to meet contractual obligations.

"In the meantime there are some carnivals this weekend which my client wants to compete in as well as to continue training for the Nutri-Grain series, which is a major competition," barrister Christopher Tam said.

Hoare said it was accepted Mercer had not been given any right of reply before being suspended but SLSA's reputation as an organisation of trusted members responsible for the safety of others would be undermined if the suspension was now lifted.

"The harm which is done is that a principle objective of the association is protection of persons in the surf," he said.

"The policy to which it is bound requires and ensures trust between members when they go into those circumstances. The (alleged) conduct is of such a nature that trust is not necessarily in place."

An affidavit by SLSA chief executive Brett Williamson, who was in court, was also tendered but later withdrawn by the lawyers because it contained scandalous material.